Mendelssohn: Elijah, Op. 70, MWV A 25 (Live)

Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Chor des Städtischen Musikvereins zu Düsseldorf

Released on 15/09/2023 by Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings
Main artists: Bayerisches Staatsorchester Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Wolfgang Sawallisch Chor des städtischen Musikvereins zu Düsseldorf
Genre: Classical

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The labels lately established by performing organizations have mostly been devoted to new releases, but there is a lot to be said for using them to resurrect historical performances and recordings. These tend to be ones that have hung in people's memories for years, well after newer recordings have become available. There couldn't be a better example than this, the first historical release from the Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings label. It reproduces a 1984 live performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah, Op. 70 (as Elias, in the original German) from the Nationaltheater München, with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Chor des städtischen Musikvereins zu Düsseldorf. (The latter got involved because the Bayerischer Staatsopernchor was unavailable, but the choir acquits itself very well, unsurprisingly inasmuch as Mendelssohn himself was one of its former directors.) Sawallisch was noted for his way with Mendelssohn, to which he brought a noble Germanic tinge that makes a nice contrast with the usual English performances. He never did better than here, and upon hearing that tapes of this performance had been preserved, he is said to have exclaimed, "Thank God they're safe!" The soloists, led by baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role and tenor Peter Schreier as Obadiah, are superb. Another attraction is the hardbound booklet, delving deep into Mendelssohn's philosophical place in German society (really philosophical -- Hegel and his dialectic come into it). The live sound from 1984 is impressive indeed, with crowd noise kept to an absolute minimum in a superb display of discipline. A wonderful historical reissue that catches the intense drama in Mendelssohn's oratorio.

© James Manheim /TiVo

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Mendelssohn: Elijah, Op. 70, MWV A 25 (Live)

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

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Elijah, Op. 70, MWV A 25, Pt. 1: So wahr der Herr, der Gott Israels lebet (Live)

00:00:59

Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Wolfgang Sawallisch, Conductor, MainArtist - Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Orchestra, MainArtist - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, MainArtist - Julius Schubring, Lyricist